1993–94 Philadelphia Flyers season


The 1993–94 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Flyers' 27th season in the National Hockey League. For the fifth consecutive season, the Flyers failed to make the playoffs. This was the most recent season as of 2017 that the Flyers missed the playoffs in consecutive years.

Off-season

was hired to replace Ken Hitchcock, who left to become the head coach of the Kalamazoo Wings of the International Hockey League, as an assistant coach under new head coach Terry Simpson. Simpson named Kevin Dineen captain and made Eric Lindros an alternate captain to groom him for a leadership role.

Regular season

This season began on a brighter note, as the club raced out to an 11–3–0 record. A loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Maple Leaf Gardens on November 6 signaled a sharp downturn, however. Lindros went down with his second knee injury in as many years and soon after, the Penguins routed the Flyers 11–5 in Pittsburgh.
Other lowlights on the slide included a 6–0 loss in Calgary, and an 8–0 defeat in the club's first-ever road game against the Dallas Stars in early January. Lindros netted an impressive hat-trick in an 8–3 win over the Blues later in the month, but an 0–6–1 slide placed the team out of playoff contention.
Despite Simpson's efforts to employ a defensive system akin to the yet-to-be unleashed neutral zone trap, the team continued to crack with Dominic Roussel and Tommy Soderstrom in net. Soderstrom struggled with heart ailments and bad luck all season, winning just six games. After climbing within three points of eighth-seeded Washington in late March, the Flyers finished the year 2–5–3 and rested in sixth place in the Atlantic Division, three points behind the expansion Florida Panthers.
Mark Recchi recorded 107 points and Lindros 97. Rod Brind'Amour improved with another 97 and Mikael Renberg set a Flyers rookie record with 82 points. Philadelphia had the best shooting percentage of all 26 teams, scoring 294 goals on 2,409 shots. Offense was generated as the Flyers had four 30-goal scorers for the second-straight season and averaged 3.5 goals per game, but they still failed to clinch a playoff berth, again falling four points short of the final playoff spot.
After the season, Ed Snider had decided he had seen enough of Russ Farwell as general manager, and began courting Bobby Clarke to leave his GM post with the Florida Panthers to return to Philadelphia. Farwell's last move was firing Simpson after a lackluster season.

Season standings

Schedule and results

Regular season

Player statistics

Scoring

Awards

Records

Individual

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from June 10, 1993, the day after the deciding game of the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals, through June 14, 1994, the day of the deciding game of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals.

Trades

Signings

Free agency

The following players were signed by the Flyers via free agency.
DatePlayerPrevious team TermRef
August 2, 1993Jeff FinleyNew York Islanders
August 2, 1993Dave TippettPittsburgh Penguins
August 3, 1993Claude VilgrainNew Jersey Devils
August 4, 1993Tracy EgelandChicago Blackhawks
August 4, 1993Norm FosterEdmonton Oilers
August 4, 1993Chris WinnesBoston Bruins
March 6, 1994Todd HlushkoCanadian National Team

Internal

The following players were either re-signed by the Flyers or, in the case of the team's selections in the NHL Entry Draft, signed to contracts.
DatePlayerTermRef
July 14, 1993Terry Carkner3-year
September 7, 1993Mark Recchi6-year
September 13, 1993Andre Faust2-year
September 13, 1993Milos Holan 3-year
September 13, 1993Stewart Malgunas2-year
September 13, 1993Ryan McGill2-year
September 23, 1993Tommy Soderstrom4-year
October 30, 1993Vaclav Prospal 5-year
November 19, 1993Yves Racine4-year
March 15, 1994Chris Therien 4-year
April 6, 1994Neil Little 2-year
May 11, 1994Chris Herperger
May 11, 1994Aaron Israel

NHL Expansion Draft

The 1993 NHL Expansion Draft was held on June 24, 1993. It featured two expansion teams, the Florida Panthers and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, selecting players from the other 24 NHL teams. Each NHL team was allowed to protect 1 goaltender, 5 defensemen, and 9 forwards and all first-year players were exempt. The two selecting teams were provided a list of players they could select.
StatusPlayers
ProtectedJosef Beranek, Claude Boivin, Rod Brind'Amour, Dave Brown, Terry Carkner, Jim Cummins, Kevin Dineen, Pelle Eklund, Brent Fedyk, Garry Galley, Greg Hawgood, Dan Kordic, Ryan McGill, Mark Recchi, Dominic Roussel
UnprotectedKeith Acton, Bill Armstrong, Len Barrie, Al Conroy, Jamie Cooke, Shawn Cronin, Eric Dandenault, Yanick Degrace, Daniel Dore, Corey Foster, Willie Huber, Gord Hynes, Andrei Lomakin, Steve Morrow, Glenn Mulvenna, Pat Murray, Ric Nattress, Lance Pitlick, Toni Porkka, Dave Snuggerud, Wes Walz, Bob Wilkie
SelectionsFlorida Panthers selected Gord Hynes 21st overall
SelectionsFlorida Panthers selected Andrei Lomakin 40th overall

Waivers

The Flyers were not involved in any waivers transactions. The 1993 NHL Waiver Draft was held on October 3, 1993. The Flyers protected the following players: goaltenders Dominic Roussel and Tommy Soderstrom, defensemen Terry Carkner, Jeff Finley, Garry Galley, Greg Hawgood, Stewart Malgunas, Ryan McGill, Ric Nattress, Bob Wilkie, and Dmitri Yushkevich, and forwards Josef Beranek, Rod Brind'Amour, Dave Brown, Al Conroy, Kevin Dineen, Pelle Eklund, Brent Fedyk, Mark Recchi, and Dave Tippett. The Flyers left the following players unprotected: goaltender Norm Foster, defensemen Corey Foster, Willie Huber, Lance Pitlick, and Toni Porkka, and forwards Jamie Cooke, Tracy Egeland, and Claude Vilgrain.

Departures

The following players left the team via free agency, release, or retirement. Players who were under contract and left the team during the season are marked with an asterisk.
DatePlayerNew team ViaRef
July 1993Chris JensenWashington CapitalsFree agency
July 20, 1993Len BarrieFlorida PanthersFree agency
July 27, 1993Keith ActonWashington CapitalsFree agency
August 3, 1993Wes WalzCalgary FlamesBuyout
N/ADavid Fenyves—Retirement
September 1993Dave Snuggerud—Retirement
October 8, 1993Ric Nattress*—Retirement

Draft picks

NHL Entry Draft

Philadelphia's picks at the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at the Colisée de Québec in Quebec City on June 26–27, 1993. The Flyers traded their first-round picks in 1993, 10th overall, and 1994 along with Steve Duchesne, Ron Hextall, Kerry Huffman, Mike Ricci, Chris Simon, the rights to Peter Forsberg, and $15 million to the Quebec Nordiques for the rights to Eric Lindros on June 30, 1992. They also traded their third-round pick, 62nd overall, to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with Kjell Samuelsson, Rick Tocchet, and Ken Wregget for the Los Angeles Kings' first-round pick, 15th overall, Brian Benning, and Mark Recchi on February 19, 1992.
RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalityTeam Notes
236Janne NiinimaaDefenseFinlandOulun Kärpät
371Vaclav ProspalLeft wingCzech RepublicHC České Budějovice
377Milos HolanDefenseCzech RepublicHC Vítkovice
5114Vladimir KrechinLeft wingRussiaTraktor Chelyabinsk
6140Mike CrowleyDefenseUnited StatesBloomington Jefferson High School
7166Aaron IsraelGoaltenderUnited StatesHarvard University
8192Paul HealeyWingCanadaPrince Albert Raiders
9218Tripp TracyGoaltenderUnited StatesHarvard University
9226E. J. BradleyCenterUnited StatesTabor Academy
10244Jeff StaplesDefenseCanadaBrandon Wheat Kings
11270Ken HemenwayDefenseUnited StatesAlaska All-Stars

NHL Supplemental Draft

Philadelphia's picks at the 1993 NHL Supplemental Draft.
RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalityTeam
110Shannon FinnDefenseCanadaUniversity of Illinois at Chicago

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League and the Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL.